We are filming a 13-part documentary entitled "The Gulf of Mexico - Today and Tomorrow" in conjunction with Cabelas Fisherman's Handbook. The show airs every Sunday morning prime-time on your local Fox SportsNet channel at 10.00 am local time. Our normal BATV programming on Fox has been replaced with this show for 3rd and 4th quarters 2010. You can still catch the BATV shows on Channel 354 DirecTV and on Untamed Sports and we are filming an entirely new BATV series for 2011 - so stay tuned!

Spending the past few weeks in the Gulf region has been a real eye-opener. Its one thing hearing about the Gulf Oil Spill. Its another experiencing it first-hand. See below for more details on what we uncovered in the last few weeks in the region and remember to follow this crisis on our new company fan-page on Facebook. To become a fan logon to www.facebook.com/BirdingAdventures and click on the "Like" icon.

Please tune in as we uncover the devastation to our wildlife, expose the truth and highlight the work of non-profits and government agencies involved in the clean-up effort.

A beautiful beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama

Congratulations to Pamela Righter of Buffalo for identifying the latest mystery bird as a McCown's Longspur. Be sure to enter this week's quizz!

Stay tuned for another Birding Adventure!

THE TV SHOW WHERE BIRDS OF A FEATHER ADVENTURE TOGETHER

DISASTER IN THE GULF!

Being down in the Gulf over the past few weeks has been a real eye-opener. The scope of this environmental and social crisis becomes seriously evident when one experiences it in person. It certainly seems as though the situation is very dynamic and constantly changing. One day we were walking on pristine white beaches with almost zero evidence of oil and the next (after a south wind) the same beaches were stained with noxious, sticky oil that may take years to fully clean up.

Oil washing up on the pristine beaches of Gulf Shores Alabama

The effects on wildlife are obviously going to be severe. Our research has indicated that on some stretches of beach there has been a 50-70% reduction in the number of turtle nests compared with the same time last year. It may be too early to tell if this is the result of a direct impact of the oil but judging by the unusually high number of dead turtles found thus far, I would go so far as to say that the oil has been the overarching factor in the lower breeding success. This is particularly disturbing for the endangered Kemp's Ridley turrtles that nest here. To compound the already obvious impact of the oil, the healthy turtles that try to come up on the beaches are surely disuaded by the clean-up crews that are working nightly with lights and heavy machinery.

A dead turtle washed up on the beaches

What is heartening to see is that the community has mobilized around this cause and everyone from fishermen and shrimpers to conservationists and birders are lending a hand in any way possible. If you would like to support the many causes that are doing great work in the Gulf, watch "The Gulf of Mexico - Today and Tomorrow" every Sunday at 10.00 am on your local Fox SportsNet channel and donate to one of our featured non-profits.

THE EFFECT OF THE SPILL ON BIRDS

Brown Pelicans have become the poster children of this terrible crisis with sickening images splashed across news pages and TV screens of pelicans covered in syrupy oil. This is disastrous for a species that only came of the federal endangered list in November last year. Gulf coast Brown Pelicans have had their fair share of disasters from DDT poisoning in the 60's, catasrophic hurricanes and minor oil spills. But now they face an entirely different challenge in the form of the worst environmental catastrophe that this country has ever known.

An oiled Brown Pelican struggles to fly

But its not just Brown Pelicans that are going to suffer. On the contrary, scores of other species will bear the brunt of this. We have witnessed Least Terns with oil-saturated bellies returning to incubate their eggs. Oil has a retarding effect on the development of embryos and its likely that a significant number of Least Terns will not hatch out this year. Clean-up crews have been driving ignorantly over Least Tern nests in some areas and this has further hampered the breeding efforts of these delightful birds. In addition to terns and gulls, countless shorebirds, waterfowl and wading birds will also be significantly impacted. We witnessed Black Skimmers "skimming" oily waters close to shore and this is obviously to have a negative effect on a species that, by virtue of its fishing technique, is particularly vulnerable to oil ingestion.

A Black Skimmer on the Gulf coast

BATV WEEKLY QUIZZ

Congratulations to Pamela Righter of Buffalo who correctly identified our last mystery bird as a McCown's Longspur. Pamela won a Nikon lens cleaning kit and a $20 gift voucher to www.nikonprogear.com

Correctly identify this week's mystery bird and win a $10 gift voucher to www.nikonprogear.com and a Nikon lens cleaning cloth.